Influence of Rotation Crops on the Strawberry Pathogens Pratylenchus penetrans, Meloidogyne hapla, and Rhizoctonia fragariae

Abstract

Field microplot, small plot, and greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the effects of rotation crops on Pratylenchus penetrans, Meloidogyne hapla, and Rhizoctonia fragariae populations. Extraction of P. penetrans from roots and soil in microplots and field plots planted to rotation crops was highest for Garry oat, lowest for Triple S sorgho-sudangrass and Saia oat, and intermediate for strawberry, buckwheat, and canola. Isolation of R. fragariae from bait roots was highest for strawberry and canola after 2 years of rotation and lowest for Saia oat. Nematode extraction from roots of rotation crops in field soils was generally higher than from roots in microplots. Grasses were nonhosts of M. hapla. Strawberry, canola, and buckwheat supported root-knot populations over time, but there were no differences in nematode numbers regardless of crop after one season of strawberry growth. Garry oat, canola, and, to a lesser extent, buckwheat supported large populations of P. penetrans without visible root symptoms. Strawberry plants supported fewer nematodes due to root damage. Nematode numbers from soil were less than from roots for all crops. While there were similar trends for pathogen recovery after more than 1 year of strawberry growth following rotation, differences in pathogen density and fruit yield were not significant. In the greenhouse, P. penetrans populations in roots and soil in pots were much higher for Garry oat than for Saia oat. Total P. penetrans adult and juvenile numbers per pot ranged from 40 to 880 (mean = 365.6) for Garry oat and 0 to 40 (mean = 8.7) for Saia oat. Production of Saia oat as a rotation crop may be a means of managing strawberry nematodes and black root rot in Connecticut.